A Dream of the Sea
by Lady of the Shards
Summary: Ace, Sabo, and Luffy can't stay on Mt. Corvo. Can't stay anywhere on the island. So their journeys start a bit earlier than planned. How will this change their futures? (A slightly different take on a common theme. It's gonna get crazy, I think.) I do not own One Piece. T to be safe.
1. Prologue

**A Dream of the Sea- Prlogue**

"Makino! MAKINO!" Luffy came barreling into the tavern, panic written clearly on his young face.

Makino quickly came around the counter, drying her hands before she caught the young boy in her arms. "Luffy! What's wrong?"

"They took him away! They took Sabo away!" The boy wailed into her shirt as he clutched her tightly.

An image of the boy who had become a brother to Luffy flashed in Makino's mind. "Luffy, what do you mean? Who took Sabo away?"

"His parents! But he hates them! He only went with them because they threatened me an' Ace!" Anger tainted the panic in his voice. He leaned his head back and looked up at Makino. "What do I do?"

Makino looked down into the wide eyes filled with panic, anger, and confusion, her heart melting as she struggled to think of something to say to the boy. "Luffy…" She hugged the boy closer to her and gently stroked his hair. "Luffy… The three of you always seem to be talking about your dreams… What are they?"

Makino hoped she was saying the right things as Luffy fell silent for a moment. She continued as he thought. "Do you think that Sabo is going to give up on his dream just because he was taken away? Do you think that he would give up so easily?"

"No…" Makino could tell Luffy was thinking hard by how his head was heating up.

"Luffy, let me fix you something to eat to help you calm down." She carefully led the boy to the counter where the young boy sat quietly, so unlike his usual rambunctious self. She watched him as she swiftly prepared some food.

Once she placed the food in front of Luffy, she understood just how upset the boy truly was. Instead of inhaling the food like he usually did, he took sow bites, his eyes blank and gazing at something that could not be seen. She was becoming extremely worried, unable to think of anything else to say, when she noticed it.

Ever so slowly a grin was beginning to form at the corners of Luffy's mouth. Suddenly the grin exploded into a bright smile and the rest of the food disappeared in an instant. Luffy smiled brightly at Makino, no trace left of the panicked boy from before. "Thanks Makino! I think I know what to do now! Shihihihi!"

Then without another word, Luffy ran out of the tavern as quickly as he had entered it. Makino was left blinking after the boy, trying her hardest to figure out what he was going to do.

**xXxXx**

"HEY ACE! WAKE UP!" Luffy somehow managed to yell quietly enough that he only woke his older brother and not the entire forest.

Ace sat up quickly and whacked Luffy on the head, growling at being woke up. Before he really started yelling at Luffy for waking him up though, he noticed how his little brother was grinning. Like he hadn't grinned since Sabo was taken from them. Ace sighed and lowered his fist, tired and confused on how he should feel about Sabo cooperating with his father in order to protect the other two. "What is it Luffy?"

Luffy babbled rapidly at Ace, only a few words jumping out at the older boy.

Ace blinked at Luffy for a moment before it all clicked and he began to grin as well.

**xXxXx**

Sabo stared at the blank wall of his room silently, remembering the wall of a different room. A room he desperately wished to return to, because in that room who the only two people he really cared about—the only two people that really cared for HIM. He hoped with his whole being that they were alright, that they were uninjured.

He knew that he would be able to ever return to the mountain. He 'father' would simply come after him again. And again. And again. As long as Sabo stayed in the Kingdom of Goa, he would never be free.

And never had he wanted to leave this dreadful place more than he did now. It was threatening Ace and Sabo because he wasn't cooperating and now he was hearing that there were plans to BURN Gray Terminal?! Just how much lower could this place fall? Just how much more corrupt? Only one person that he had seen seemed to be in agreement with him. Seemed to understand what was WRONG.

Sabo couldn't stay here. Not in Highland, not in Gray Terminal, not even on Mt. Corvo. But he couldn't leave Ace behind and he didn't even want to THINK about leaving Luffy behind. He remembered how Luffy was when he first met him. How he had considered being alone more painful than being beat nearly to death. Sabo looked around the posh room that was his prison. He thought of his parents, who he felt so isolated from like they were the prison guards. Or maybe they were some of the chains he felt wrapping around him tightly, holding him down and choking him.

Sabo's spiraling, circling thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his window. He knew that it was well past midnight. Add in the fact that there was no one who would visit him via window except—

Sabo's mind ground to a complete thought as he rushed over to the window and threw it open to reveal his grinning brothers.

Joy at seeing them mixed with worry that they will be caught and hurt. He quickly yanked them into the room and shut the window. "What are the two of you doing here? How did you even find this place?"

The two black haired boys gave him identical looks, indicating that they thought he was being stupid. Together they responded to the second question first.

"We followed your scent."

Sabo slapped his palm to his face as he waited for the other two to tell him why they were there. He looked at them and noticed that the grins they had been wearing when they first arrived were back in full force.

"Shihihihi!" It almost surprised Sabo that Luffy remembered to keep quiet, but what he said next completely shocked him. "We're here to kidnap you!"

Sabo blinked at his brothers, completely silent. After several minutes of silence, Ace began to fidget, a bit nervous that what the pirate Bluejam had said might be true. That Sabo had been looking down on them the whole time. Then suddenly he and Luffy were both grabbed in a huge hug. When Sabo finally released them he wore a grin even bigger than the ones they had come in with and Ace felt foolish for ever doubting him.

Then Sabo's grin faded a bit. "Luffy, Ace…If we do this, then we can't stay on this island anymore. These people will just keep coming after me to bring me back and you would get hurt—or worse, killed!"

Ace slammed his fist onto the top of Sabo's head. "Idiot! We thought of that." He grinned at Sabo. "We're gonna leave tonight! So get whatever you think you will need, we already got everything from the treehouse. We just need to make one more stop before we hit the docks."

Luffy was still laughing quietly, the excitement bubbling out of him. "We even made sure to leave notes for Dadan and Makino!"

"What about Garp?" Sabo asked, knowing the answer he would receive to this question.

"Why would we write to Shitty Old Gramps? We told Makino to tell him we said that we were off to be pirates and that should be enough." Luffy's response had Sabo holding his stomach to keep from laughing loud enough to wake the household.

When he finally had his laughter under control he looked at his precious brothers, who had come up with perfect solution to the problem he had been working on ever since he set foot in this house again. He grinned. "Give me ten minutes. I know EXACTLY what I need to get." He quickly made his way to the door, but before he opened it he spun around to ask one more question. "Have you two actually acquired a boat yet?"

When they shook their heads no, the grin that spread across Sabo's face was positively feral, the kind of grin he wore when they were about to fight. "Perfect." He quickly disappeared through the door before Ace or Luffy could ask what he meant.

Sabo first went to the kitchen, where the staff kept several sturdy bags for groceries and other shopping that they did for his 'family'. He grabbed a few of them, filing two of them with food—he knew how much Ace and Luffy could eat—and taking the rest with him as he silently made his way through the house. He grabbed a few books from the library—navigation, maps, and a few books that he could read on the long days where nothing was happening—and placed them in a bag. He also grabbed some gems and stacks of money from where they were hidden. As he made his way back to his 'room', he noticed for sturdy metal pipes hidden in a corner. He had no idea why they were there or what they were for, but they were much better than the ones he and his brothers were currently using. When he picked them up, he realized they were pure steel and solid—poles, not pipes—perfect for their fighting style. He grabbed them and took them back to the room along with the rest of his loot.

When he entered the room, he tossed two of the poles to Ace and Luffy and set the two bags of food on the bed and finished filling the third bag with clothes and anything else from the room that he thought he would need or things that it would piss his 'father' off were gone. When he finished, he turned to see his brothers examining the poles and carefully swinging them around to get a sense of the balance.

He grinned again. "My guess is that our last stop is to get the treasure, right?" At his brothers' nods, he held up the remaining bags. "Then these should help."

Ace grinned back at him. "Awesome."

"Sabo! These poles are awesome!" Luffy was still keeping his voice down, Sabo would have to ask Ace what he said to the boy to keep him quiet, because there was no way this kid would normally be this quiet. Still he grinned at his little brother.

Ace fidgeted, clearly getting impatient. Ace looked out the window, examining the sky. "If we don't get going soon, the sun is gonna come up."

Sabo nodded in agreement and grabbed the bags he had packed and slinging them over his shoulder. He gestured Ace and Luffy through the window first and took one last look around the room he had hated his whole life. As his eyes landed on desk, he decided to do one last thing. Once he was finished he settled his top hat firmly on his head and disappeared through the window, never to return.

On the desk was a piece of paper with a single word. _Goodbye._

**xXxXx**

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had quickly gathered all the hidden treasure into the bags as well as the bags that Ace and Luffy had hidden before going to get Sabo. Now they stood at the docks, looking at all the boats and ships.

Ace and Luffy were looking around wondering which would be the best boat/ship for them to take when Sabo suddenly started off down one of the piers, seemingly with a destination in mind. The black haired boys quickly took off after him, not wanting to get lost. When they finally caught up with him he was standing in front of a beautiful boat—small enough for a three-man crew but big enough to give each of the some space. As Ace and Luffy looked at the boat in awe, Sabo quickly began to load all of their supplies onto it.

Ace finally snapped out of it and tossed the last bag to Sabo before tossing Luffy after it. Sabo laughed as he caught the yelling Luffy as Ace leaped after him. Ace looked over the deck of the boat and turned to Sabo. "So how did you know about this boat?"

The grin Sabo showed Ace and Luffy was feral and dangerous. "This boat belongs to my 'father' and 'mother'. I thought it was fitting."

In response, Luffy and Ace gave him answering grins, just as dangerous and feral.

Sabo hopped back onto the pier momentarily to untie the boat, and then they were off. Sabo told the other two what needed to be done to get the boat out where they wanted to be.

The open sea.

**xXxXx**

The next day, Sabo's 'family' was in an uproar. His 'father' sent soldiers hunting for him everywhere with no luck.

On Mt. Corvo, the bandits were bundles of mixed emotions. The letter that had been left for them had simply told them that the boys were leaving, but at the end Luffy had written a little note: _I don't like bandits! But I like you guys! _When Dadan had read that, she had burst into tears. Deep down, all of them realized that when Garp found out, they would all be in big trouble, but there was nothing that they could do.

Down in Fuusha Village, Makino was smiling as she wiped tears from her eyes. Her letter had been a simple explanation and a thank you for all that she had done for the three of them. She would miss the rambunctious boys but she knew that as long as they had each other they would be alright.

Because they were heading towards their dreams.

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: This AU was inspired by the ****Moby Dick's Tales**** by ****Freefan1412****. This series of oneshots planted this idea in my mind. I WILL NOT COPY THEIR STORIES. THEY BELONG TO ****Freefan1412**** NOT TO ME. I credit them with the giving me the idea, but what follows is completely mine. I love their stories, and think everyone should go read them—they are wonderful.**

**Alright. Now that that's done, EXPLANATION! This story is—obviously—an AU. I've read several where Sabo decides to leave, but talks Ace and Luffy into going with him but…I think that Luffy would somehow come up with this crazy idea. Who knows how his mind works. But I'm gonna run with this. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional character!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A Dream of the Sea- Chapter 1 **

Ace looked at Luffy, sprawled on the deck catching up on all the sleep he had missed the night before. His thoughts revolved around his little brother, around the events of the past few weeks, and around their plans for the future.

"Sabo, Luffy's only seven."

Sabo looked up from the book he was reading as the wind pushed them along their way. "Yeah…Oh."

Ace looked at his other brother, his eyes serious and determined. "We can't start our journey just yet. We need to find another island and train some more. We need to get stronger."

Sabo nodded and pulled out a different book and a map. "Let me see…This island is on the map but there doesn't seem to be anything on it in the book. It might be uninhabited, so it will be harder for people—" Images of an angry Garp flashed through both of their minds. "—to find us. Shall we check it out?"

Ace nodded. "That sounds good. Specially the hard to find bit." He shuddered as memories of the Fist of Love came to the forefront of his mind. "How long should it take us to get there?"

**xXxXx**

The island that they had decided to check out seemed to be completely jungle. A large, dangerous looking jungle. It reminded Ace and Sabo of the jungle on Mt. Corvo. Ace looked down at the still slumbering Luffy and rolled his eyes.

Sabo grinned at Ace and motioned to him to stay quiet as he knelt next to Luffy. He bent his head so that he could whisper into Luffy's ear. "Luffy, we arrived at our first island."

Immediately the rubber boy was awake and trying to get onto the island. Sabo collapsed into laughter while Ace tried to keep Luffy from falling in the water as he laughed as well.

"Luffy! Wait a sec, could ya?" Sabo managed to get a bit of control over his laughter and helped Ace pull Luffy back into the boat. "Sheesh, you spend the entire time sailing asleep and then…" Sabo shook his head in exasperation.

"Don't try to run off on your own, idiot!" Ace growled as he whacked Luffy on the head. "We know nothing about this place!"

Luffy pouted at his big brothers, but was soon enough grinning in excitement again. His sparkling eyes were darting all over what he could see of the island, trying to take it all in.

"Oi! Luffy, come help us ready the boat so that we can land." Sabo was maneuvering the boat carefully while Ace was quickly securing the items that they had brought with them. Luffy quickly helped Ace get everything packed away so that they could go exploring!

**xXxXx**

They had been exploring the thick jungle for a few hours and their stomachs were starting to growl. Ace started keeping an eye out for suitable prey while Sabo kept one out for a place they could start a cooking fire. Luffy was too busy exploring every nook and cranny that they passed.

Their stomachs gave a particularly loud rumble just as they reached the edge of a small clearing. A light chuckle sounded from the other side, causing the three boys to freeze momentarily. They all looked to see a woman with a basket of mushrooms resting against her hip.

The woman smiled calmly at them as she knelt down to gather some of the mushrooms that were growing at the edge of the clearing. "Are you boys hungry?"

Luffy's signature grin spread across his face. Before he was able to say anything Ace clamped his hand over Luffy's mouth and made sure that Luffy was at least partially behind him. Sabo took a couple of steps forward and placed himself between his brothers and the woman before smiling politely at her.

"Hello. Would there happen to be a town on this island? We just landed a few hours ago." Sabo's polite manners made the woman chuckle softly.

"There's only a small village on the north side of the island." The woman placed the last of the mushrooms into the basket and stood up. "I can lead the three of you there, maybe fix the three of you lunch?"

Ace struggled to hold Luffy back as he exchanged a glance with Sabo. The woman saw this and chuckled again. Sabo looked back at the woman. "Do you mind? We'd hate to cause you inconvenience."

The woman laughed at that. "No inconvenience. I was planning on heading back soon, I gathered plenty of mushrooms already." She softly smiled at the three of them again. "At least let me show you the way to the village. Whether you come to the tavern for lunch or not is up to you."

Sabo glanced back at Ace who was still keeping a firm grip on Luffy. Wariness was still heavy in his eyes, but Ace nodded at Sabo's questioning look. Sabo turned and smiled at the woman. "Thank you. We would like that."

Amusement danced in the back of the woman's eyes as she returned the smile. "Well then. We had better get a move on." She gestured for them to follow her then began to make her way carefully through the jungle. Luffy happily ran after her as soon as Ace relaxed his grip enough for Luffy to slip through. Ace and Sabo had to hurry to make sure they did not get to far from their little brother.

They had been walking for about ten minutes when a series of loud crashes were heard heading their way. The woman quickly yanked the three boys behind a tree and kept her eyes locked in the direction that the sounds were coming from. Luffy was looking the same direction with sparkling eyes. Ace and Sabo both felt excitement running through them at the sounds of a large animal coming towards them. All three of the boys clasped their steel poles in preparation while the woman loosely held her arms around them and kept herself between them and whatever was coming.

A large boar came crashing through the underbrush.

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I forgot to mention before that I know nothing about boats. Or ships. DO NOT EXPECT TECHNICAL TERMS FROM ME. You will be disappointed. Also, I have no beta reader for my One Piece stories, so there will be mistakes. My apologies.**

**There will be some OCs in this story. I will do my best to have them remain minor characters—most won't even get names—but some of them may end up being fairly important. There is no way for me to tell at this point.**

**I hope this chapter is alright. I wrote it twice because the first time was complete cr**. Hopefully this version, though shorter, is better. I'm off to work on the second one now!**

**Guest Review Reply:**

**To AslRules: Thank you so much for the review! A warning to all: My updates are often sporadic and take time. I am a slow writer when the muse is against me. At the moment, the muse if feeding this story, so we'll see how it goes.**

***looks at amount of follows, favorites, and reviews* One week and already this many people?! *extremely happy* I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited the story. I do my best to respond to all of them, even if it is just a follow or favorite. You have no idea how much they mean to me. Each time I get a message letting me know that someone took the time to read my story and LIKED it, my day gets ten times better. When someone takes the time to leave a comment, I seriously cannot stop smiling for HOURS. And so I give all of you my sincerest thanks.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A Dream of the Sea- Chapter 2**

"So these three boys were able to take out one of the boars? All by themselves?" The mayor of the village looked the young boys over critically.

The tavern owner laughed lightly. "It barely took them five minutes. It was quite impressive." The woman placed the meat she had been cooking onto some plates and brought them over to the boys.

The two raven haired boys fell on the meat like starving animals while the blonde haired boy smiled at the woman. He quickly swiped some of the meat for himself and turned to the woman. "Could you tell us more about this island?"

The woman smiled softly at Sabo. "Sure. What exactly do you want to know?"

Ace glanced up from the food in front of him for a moment. "What's the most dangerous part of the island?"

**xXxXx**

They had been on the island for two weeks, staying in the jungle on the west side of the island. The people of the village tended to avoid the area due to the abnormally large carnivores that congregated there.

Each morning, they caught a few animals and took them to the tavern, where the meat was cooked. In exchange for sharing the meat with the villagers, the boys were given fruit and vegetables that were grown on the east side of the island.

After they had eaten breakfast, they spent some time talking with certain villagers, learning different things about them.

**xXxXx –Day 67–**

_ "So you've been to the Grand Line? What was it like?" Sabo's eyes were wide, determined and eager as he listened to the old man._

_ The old man chuckled. "Only some of the first islands. None of the ships I was on were strong enough to go farther, only merchant ships. We took cargo to the islands, and they gave us cargo to take to the four seas."_

_ Ace tried to hide his curiosity and interest behind his usual scowl. "But what was it like?"_

_ The man smiled at the boys. "The weather was insane. It was always changing rapidly and randomly. And don't bother with compasses when you're there. They don't work."_

_ Sabo looked alarmed. "Compasses don't work on the Grand Line? Then how do you navigate?"_

_ "You use an item called a log pose. I think I might still have the one I used back then somewhere…" He took a sip of his drink and looked Sabo over. "The three of you plan on heading to the Grand Line when you're older, I take it?"_

_ Sabo glanced at Ace, whose scowl darkened but shrugged. When they turned to Luffy, they found him asleep amongst a pile of empty plates. Sabo sighed and turned back to the old man. "Yes." Sabo looked the man straight in the eye. "We're gonna be pirates."_

_ The old man laughed loudly. "Well then. How about I give you my old log pose? You will have more use for it than I will."_

_ Sabo blinked, surprised by his reaction, before smiling brightly. "You'll really give us one?"_

_ The old man laughed again at the surprise written across their faces. "Of course! I look forward to seeing what you three become! Come talk to me anytime, I'll tell you what I know of the Grand Line!"_

**xXxXx –Day 153–**

_ Luffy looked devastated and Ace and Sabo looked furious and disgusted at the story the old woman had just told them._

_ "The marines just…!" Sabo looked like he was on the verge of puking, unable to get his emotions into words._

_ Luffy went over to the woman and gave her a hug, which brought a small, sad smile to her face. Ace's jaw worked for a moment before he spoke. "How…how did you survive?"_

_ A short bitter laugh escaped the old woman. "I had moved away from the island many years before. I doubt anyone on the island even remembered me." A distant look entered her eyes as she looked out at the blue sea. "As far as I know, there is only one other survivor…That poor child…"_

_ The boys fell silent as they watched tears fall down the woman's face._

**xXxXx –Day 289–**

_ Luffy knelt next to the woman who ran the tavern. "What about that mushroom?"_

_ The woman looked where he was pointing. "That mushroom is poisonous unless roasted." She pointed to another clump of mushrooms. "Those are interesting ones. When eaten, they cause uncontrollable laughter. If you eat too many you can laugh yourself to death. And those over there—" She pointed to another clump. "—will make you unreasonably angry. Best to avoid those."_

_ Sabo frowned over her shoulder. "Are there any normal mushrooms around here?"_

_ The woman laughed. "If you look under that tree over there, you should find some shiitake mushrooms." She laughed again when Luffy immediately ran over to the tree._

_ Ace growled. "Why do we have to listen to this? If we want to know about mushrooms we can figure it out ourselves."_

_ The woman selected a mushroom and held it out to Ace. "So you would just eat this?"_

_ Ace glanced at the mushroom and shrugged. "Yeah, so?"_

_ She quirked an eyebrow at him and carefully tucked the mushroom away. "So you would then die an extremely slow and painful death." She looked at Ace, her eyes deadly serious. "These mushrooms are extremely rare, but there is no cure for the poison it contains. What if you hadn't known that and Luffy foolishly ate it?" She watched Ace and Sabo pale at the thought. "Understand why you should learn about them now?"_

_ Ace nodded while Sabo went over to Luffy to make sure he didn't eat a bad mushroom._

**xXxXx –Day 471–**

_ Luffy looked out of the cave that they had found on the west side of the island and stored their boat in while they stayed on the island. The sea stretched out endlessly before him as Ace and Sabo came to stand beside him. A brilliant grin spread across his face as he looked at his older brothers. Sabo looked relaxed, like a huge weight had been taken from his shoulders never to return. Ace looked calmer, less angry at the world._

_ Ace gave Luffy a small half smile before wrapping his arm around Luffy's shoulder and turning the younger boy around. "Come on, let's head back to the tree house and get some sleep._

**xXxXx –Day 678–**

_ They were on their way to the tavern with their morning haul when one of the village boys intercepted them at the edge of the jungle._

_ The boy quickly pushed them back into the jungle, keeping a careful eye behind him. "A marine ship landed on the beach earlier. The tavern owner told me to warn you three."_

_ Ace, Sabo, and Luffy all exchanged panicked looks. Luffy's hands immediately went to the top of his head, as if expecting a fist to strike him at any moment._

_ Sabo took one look at his little brother and turned to Ace. "Take Luffy and hide, I'll go see what is happening."_

_ "But what about you?" Ace automatically grabbed Luffy and held him close. "What if you get spotted?"_

_ "Then I'll lead them away or something. Just go!" Sabo gave his two brothers a shove and sent them back into the jungle. The village boy looked at Sabo like he was insane but made his way back to his village._

_ Sabo snuck through the jungle till he reached the tree that was closest to the village. He silently climbed it and from it carefully jumped onto the roof of the nearest building. Quietly making his way across the roofs, he reached the roof of the house closest to the beach._

_ Careful not to be seen, he watched as a boat from the marine ship landed on the beach._

_ The mayor of the village approached the boat as Garp the Fist clambered out of it. _

_ "Well, it is certainly rare for this tiny village to get a visit from a Vice Admiral. How can we help you sir?" The mayor leaned against his cane carefully while it rested in the sand._

_ Garp looked and sounded exhausted when he responded. "I'm looking for three young boys. Two with black hair and one with blonde. They disappeared nearly two years ago."_

_ Sabo tensed in his hiding spot while the mayor frowned. "I'm afraid you're the first visitor this island has had in quite a while. Most people think this island is uninhabited and just keep sailing. May I ask why you, a Vice Admiral, are looking for three children?"_

_ Garp rubbed a hand across his face tiredly. "They're my grandsons."_

_ The tavern owner stepped forward and offered him a comforting smile. "There's a small chance that the boys have been hiding in the jungle on this island, but I frequently travel it hunting for mushrooms. The likelihood of me having not run into them at least one is extremely low, but you could check if you wish."_

_ Garp sighed, his shoulders sagging. "No. I've been ordered back to Marine Headquarters. Sengoku thinks that if I haven't found them yet then they are most likely dead."_

_ The tavern owner tilted her head to the side in thought. "And what do you think?"_

_ "I think those boys are strong, after all I was training them to become marines!" Garp stood tall, determination shining bright in his eyes. "There is no way that they have died."_

_ The mayor huffed at Garp. "Then trust that you will meet them again. The sea is vast, but family always seems to be drawn together."_

_ Garp looked at the mayor silently for a moment before nodding. He turned and made his way back to the boat. "If those brats do show up here, please call Marine Headquarters and let me know."_

_ The tavern owner gave him one last smile. "Of course, sir."_

_ Sabo watched until the marine ship started sailing away before he made his way back to the jungle and to his brothers to tell them what happened._

**xXxXx –Day 855–**

_ Luffy and Ace were sparring in a clearing while the Sabo watched. When the tavern owner approached the clearing with her mushroom basket, Sabo decided to ask her a question that had been bothering him for a while now._

_ "Hey, how come no one on this island calls anyone by name?"_

_ The woman blinked and thought for a moment. "Hmmm…I guess it's because on this island, names just don't seem important. We all have names, we just never feel the need to use them." The woman settled next to Sabo and observed the sparring for a moment. "Very few of the adults were born on this island. Some were shipwrecked here and never left, others fell in love with those who lived here or the island itself. For some reason, we all just leave our names behind when we come here."_

_ Sabo leaned his head on his knees as he digested this information._

_ Ace finished his spar with Luffy and turned to the woman with a question in his eyes. "What about someone's family? Does it affect how you see them?"_

_ The woman laughed. "On this island? Not at all. The man who does most of the fishing? Apparently his father did something terrible and is rotting in prison. He was banished from his home island because of it. But here, it doesn't matter, because he is not his father." She smiled at the three boys. "We're all the same."_

_ "Is that why you didn't tell Garp that we were on this island?" Sabo leaned back against a tree and observed the woman carefully._

_ She laughed brightly. "So one of you was hiding somewhere and eavesdropping that day." The woman dusted herself off as she stood and looked the boys over again with a soft smile. "We're all the same."_

**xXxXx –Day 1095–**

_ The villagers looked over the boat that was gently resting on the beach. The tavern owner smiled softly._

_ "So the three of you are off today?"_

_ Luffy grinned brightly at her. "Yup! We're off to be pirates!"_

_ The old man chuckled and turned to Sabo. "Here. It's my old log pose. Be careful with it, it's fairly fragile."_

_ Sabo smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you so much. I'll keep it in the box until we reach the Grand Line."_

_ The old woman walked over to Ace with her hands behind her back. "Boy, we have something for you." She pulled an orange cowboy hat out from behind her back and offered it to him. "Your brothers each have hats, we thought you should have one as well."_

_ Ace's eyes were wide as he accepted the hat and placed it on his head. It slid down and covered his eyes a bit forcing him to push it back some. _

_ The villagers smiled at his expression. The tavern owner came over and gently adjusted the strap on the hat. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll grow into it."_

_ The mayor walked up to the boat and poked it with his cane. "You boys had better get a proper boat and crew before you think of heading off to that Grand Line. In this thing, you wouldn't even make it in!"_

_ "We plan on it, stupid old man!" Ace grumbled, one hand clamped onto the rim of his new hat as he tried to hide his embarrassment. The mayor whacked Ace on the shoulder with his can for his impertinence, making Sabo and Luffy laugh. The tavern owner and old woman quickly gave Ace a hug before he could get away, then turned and offered open arms to Luffy and Sabo who willing gave them each big hugs._

_ Once the boys were all on the boat, the old man and a few other villagers prepared to push it out to sea. The tavern owner came up to the edge and looked the boys over one more time. "Boys, what are your names?"_

_ Sabo blinked in slight confusion. "I thought names didn't matter on this island."_

_ The mayor huffed at him. "They don't, but how can we keep an eye out for you boys in the newspaper if we don't know you names?"_

_ Ace turned so that his back was facing the villagers. "Portgaz D. Ace." The words were muttered almost too quietly to hear._

_ Sabo smiled at the villagers. "I'm Sabo."_

_ Luffy grinned his signature grin, bright and open. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"_

_ The villagers smiled at the boys as the pushed the boat back into the ocean._

_ "I'm sure all three of you will reach your dreams! We wish you the best of luck!" The tavern owner and the other villagers didn't stop waving until the boys were long out of sight._

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I posted the last chapter Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning I already had six more reviews. That's more than any of my other stories have ever gotten. Thank you so much! In other news, maybe the fan fiction site should go down more often. Gives me less access to stories to read and distract me. I wrote nearly 2000 words of this in one night. Would have written more but I needed sleep.**

**I'm really bad at doing battle scenes, so I will only write them when they are really important to the plot. I apologize if that bothers you, but my fight scenes are absolutely pathetic. So I will spare you them as much as possible.**

**In case you didn't figure it out, this chapter spanned three years so the next chapter will have 13 year old Sabo and Ace and 10 year old Luffy.**

**This chapter has not been beta read, but the next chapter will be beta read ****yukiko hyuga-chan****.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you think!**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A Dream of the Sea- Chapter 3**

Sabo was looking at his map and carefully adjusting their course while he grumbled quietly to himself. Luffy was curled up at the front of the boat, asleep and clutching his precious straw hat while Ace kept a careful eye on him.

Ace glanced quickly at Sabo before looking back at Luffy, a slightly guilty look on his face. "How long till we reach the next island?"

"An hour at most, I think." Sabo looked up and glared at Ace. "It's one thing for him to be careless enough to get eaten by a crocodile, but a SHARK?" Sabo sighed. "How is he?"

Ace carefully checked the wounds Luffy had received. "He's stopped bleeding, but…" He glanced at the shark they had killed and cut up to get their little brother back. "I am looking forward to eating that thing."

A dark grin of agreement flashed across Sabo's face for a moment before worry reappeared. He made a final adjustment to their course before he put the map away and focused on making sure they were going as fast as they can.

**xXxXx**

Ace and Sabo were as careful as possible when they landed on the beach, trying to jostle Luffy as little as possible. Ace gently lifted Luffy, who was still trying to sleep off his injuries, in his arms and got off the boat.

"Would you like some help?"

Sabo whipped around, metal pole held up in defense. The young woman who had spoken held up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Relax." The girl looked them over carefully. "I'm a doctor. Is he injured?" She gestured to where Luffy now rested on Ace's back.

Sabo exchanged a quick glance with Ace before he relaxed. "Yes. He…kind of got eaten by a shark."

The woman blinked. "Well." She looked them over again before pointing over their shoulders, towards the other end of the beach. "There's a cave over there. It will be easier for me to treat him there."

Slight confusion crossed Sabo's face. "Wouldn't it be better to take him to town?"

The woman sighed. "Normally, it would be. But there's currently a group of pirates visiting, and they are not friendly." She started making her way past them, towards the cave she had pointed out.

Sabo looked concerned. "Do you have what you need to treat my brother?"

She smiled over her shoulder. "Don't worry. I always carry my kit with me."

As they followed the young woman, Sabo took in the details about her. The young woman had long brown hair braided and draped over her right shoulder, dark green eyes, and stood around five foot six. She wore a light blue three quarter length V-neck shirt, dark skinny jeans and black knee high boots. She had a plain white shawl tied around her waist, basically just a square folded into a triangle. On her left thigh was a black pouch and she had a small black backpack on her back.

When they reached the cave she told Ace to put Luffy down on a nice flat area of the stone floor. She glanced at Ace and Sabo. "While I start treating him, could one of you get a fire going? There's kindling and firewood over there and a small pit over there. And could the other get some water from the small spring at the back of the cave? It's freshwater, not sea water and there should be a bucket next to it."

Ace immediately started on the fire while Sabo went to get the water. The woman carefully removed the makeshift bandages the boys had used and set about checking the little boy's wounds. When Sabo brought her the water, she pulled a piece of cloth from the backpack and dipped it in the water before she began to delicately clean the wounds.

"Huh." The woman rinsed the cloth once she had finished cleaning all of the wounds. "He really did get eaten by a shark. Some of its teeth are still in the injuries."

Ace's expression darkened as he stood up. "I feel like cooking."

Sabo watched his brother leave the cave before he turned back to the woman who was now meticulously removing the teeth from the wounds. He waited until she cleaned the injuries again and began to stitch them up before he spoke. "We never got your name."

The woman stared at him for a moment before smiling. "I never got yours either." She finished stitching the last wound closed and gestured Sabo over. "Help me put the bandages on."

Sabo grinned at her as he held his brother's arm in place as she wrapped it. "Your right. Sorry about that. I'm Sabo."

She looked at him with amused eyes. "And I'm Nekari. I have a feeling I won't get a proper introduction from the other one." She finished securing the last bandage into place.

Sabo chuckled. "That's Ace. And the one you just bandaged up is Luffy."

Ace came back into the cave, carrying the shark, just as Sabo finished speaking. He frowned and dropped the shark by the fire. "Sabo, can I talk to you for a moment." He didn't give his brother a chance to respond as he grabbed Sabo's arm and dragged him to the cave entrance. "Why did you tell her our names?"

Sabo glanced back at the woman who was now checking Luffy's eyes and temperature. "For one thing, it was the polite thing to do. For another…" Sabo fell thoughtfully silent for a moment. "I get the feeling that we can trust her."

Ace looked at the woman too, just in time to see her frown. He quickly made his way over to Luffy. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, eyes serious. "He's got a slight fever. I have some medicine that will get rid of it quickly but it's in the village."

"The village currently being attacked by pirates?"

"Yes." She stood and started making her way to the cave entrance. "I should be able to sneak back in and get the medicine, but it will take me about half an hour to get there and come back." She glanced over her shoulder. "Stay here and be quiet and you should be safe."

Ace starts to say something but Sabo's hand on his arm stops him.

"Let's start cooking the shark. When Luffy wakes up, he's gonna be hungry."

Ace watches as his brother starts to prepare the shark for cooking for a little while before speaking. "If you told her our names, did she at least tell you hers?"

Sabo laughed quietly. "Her name is Nekari."

**xXxXx**

Half an hour later, Nekari walked back into the cave. As she walked by Ace next to the fire, she dropped a small pouch into his lap. "Local spices. They should make the shark taste even better."

Ace looked at the spices for a moment before tasting them and adding them to the cooking meat. "Thanks."

Sabo watched her carefully as she prepared a syringe to give Luffy the fever suppressant. "You come to this cave often, don't you?"

She spared him a glance before administering the shot. "I often come to this beach to be by myself. Most of the time I simply catch fish to cook for my lunch so that I don't have to return to the village."

Ace frowned again. "Isn't it bad for the village doctor to be away so much?"

Nekari chuckled lightly. "The village doctor is my father. He's taught me everything he knows, but I'm only eighteen." Her eyes grew a bit distant as she settled Luffy more comfortably. "I live in a peaceful little village—when pirates aren't attacking—but I've always felt that I didn't really fit here." She blinked and her eyes focused again. "Sorry, rambled a bit."

"Hey! The smoke we saw earlier was coming from a cave over there! Maybe someone from the village is trying to hide from the captain."

"Well then, why don't we check it out?"

"The captain did say to bring everyone on the island to him."

Nekari cursed under her breath as she stood. Ace quickly got between Luffy's prone form and the cave entrance. Sabo saw Nekari reach into the pouch strapped to her left leg and withdraw something, carefully keeping her left hand out of sight from the entrance of the cave. Light from the fire glinted off what she held in her hand and Sabo squinted to see what it was. _Needles?_ Before he could look any closer, the three people belonging to the voices they had heard appeared in the cave's entrance.

"Well, well, well." The pirate in the lead had a confident smirk on his face as he looked the small group over. "What do we have here? Three brats and a wench." He glanced at his two companions. "I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind us having some fun with them before we bring them to him."

Ace and Sabo couldn't help but be grateful that Luffy was still unconscious as they felt chills go down their spines as the pirates looked them over again. Nekari subtly shifted so that she was fully in front of the three boys. She held up her right hand in a placating gesture. "Please, they're just children, and one of them is injured. Please just let them go."

The lead pirate sneered at her. "Nah. The captain wants everyone on this island brought to him. And we follow the captain's orders." The expression in his eyes made Ace want to puke. "The captain's orders lead to all sorts of fun for us."

Ace and Sabo gripped their poles tightly, ready to spring into action. Nekari tilted her head to the side for a moment before simply shrugging. "Very well then." Her left hand flashed out, throwing needles at two of the pirates, knocking them out. She looked at the only pirate that was still standing. "Will you leave now?"

The pirate glared at her, snarling. "You bitch!" He reached for his gun but before he could draw it Sabo and Ace knocked him unconscious with their poles.

Ace turned to Nekari. "What did you do to those two?"

A small smirk appeared on her face. "My specialty." She went to the two pirates she had downed and removed several needles from each. She held them up for Ace and Sabo to see. "Acupuncture." She glanced at the pirate that had been in the lead. "It makes sense that you two are strong enough to protect yourselves. Is your little brother also strong?"

Sabo grinned at her. "He's not as strong as us, but yeah." He went over to check on Luffy and sighed. "He just has a really annoying habit of getting eaten by what's gonna be our next meal."

Nekari was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking. A small grin spread across her face and she looked at Ace. "You mind helping me get these three back to the rest of their crew? I think it's time the pirates left this island."

**xXxXx**

The sound of three bodies hitting the ground caused all the pirates to turn and look. When they saw three of their crewmates unconscious on the ground, they all drew their weapons and started looking for the ones responsible.

"It's rather amusing how not a single one of them has thought to check the roofs. I mean, their crewmates had to have fallen from somewhere, but they don't look up." The pirates all looked towards the origin of the voice and saw Nekari sitting on the edge of a roof while Ace stood next to her, glaring at all of them. Nekari smiled sweetly at the pirates below her. "Hello there. I think it's time you vacate this island."

The pirate captain looked them over. "And why should we listen to a wench and a brat?"

Ace's glare intensified, so dark that some of the pirates took a few steps back, while Nekari's smile just seemed to grow sweeter. "Because I asked nicely?"

The captain laughed loudly at her. "If we left every time a pretty wench asked us to, then we wouldn't be very good pirates would we men?" His men made loud calls of agreement when he glanced at them.

Nekari let her overly sweet smile drop as she looked up at Ace. While the pirates couldn't see her face, a razor sharp grin takes it place. "Well, I asked nicely and they refused. Mind helping me get rid of these pests?"

Ace didn't bother responding, just gripped his weapon tightly and leapt off the roof.

**xXxXx**

The villagers tossed the last pirate onto their ship and set the ship adrift with a cheer. Nekari watched in amusement as some of the younger children threw rotten vegetables at the departing ship.

"Ace!" Nekari turned and watched as Sabo ran up to his brother, grinning with success, and frowned when she saw that Luffy was running right behind Sabo. As she approached them, she caught some of what Sabo had been telling Ace. "—so when Luffy woke up, we snuck aboard that pirate ship and took all of their treasure!"

"I'm glad that the pirates no longer have any treasure, but you—" Nekari looked at Luffy. "—should be resting. Just because your injuries are bandaged does not mean they are healed. One of those wounds is very serious, if it reopened it could be bad."

Luffy smiled brightly up at her. "I took a nap and ate some meat so I'm all better!"

Nekari crossed her arms and quirked a brow at the young boy. "Oh really?" When Luffy nodded at her, one of her hands darted out and poked his shoulder causing him to hiss. "That's what I thought. Let's get you back into bed, your fever isn't completely gone either." She started pushing Luffy towards the village. "And Ace, you better come along. I saw that bullet graze your shoulder."

As Ace quickly followed after—to make sure that she didn't do anything to Luffy, not so that he could be treated—Sabo had a thoughtful look on his face for a moment before he ran to catch up with his brothers.

**xXxXx**

Nekari managed to keep Luffy in bed for a week and had the boys stay for a second to make sure that none of his wounds had gotten infected. This gave Sabo plenty of time to talk to his brothers about the idea that had entered his mind. Luffy agreed to it immediately, but Ace was harder to convince. Meaning that it took Sabo a week to get him to admit the truth. Once they all agreed, they came up with a plan. They set the plan in motion the day before they had decided to leave the island.

Luffy bounced up to Nekari, wearing his usual grin. "Hey Nekari!" He had been a little upset with the young woman when she had forced him to stay in bed, but when she had supplied him with plenty of meat and ways to entertain himself and his brothers he had decided she was nice. The fact that she also managed to make the pain almost nonexistent when she removed the stitches from his wounds helped. His eyes were practically sparkling as he looked up at her now. "Will you join our pirate crew?"

Nekari blinked down at Luffy in surprise. Over the week of bed rest, she had heard a few stories about the brothers' past—Sabo and Ace had stopped Luffy from telling a few of the stories and added in details that Luffy forgot in others—and had learned about their dreams. She glanced behind Luffy and saw Ace, with his usual scowl, and Sabo, with a small smirk, standing there. She quirked a brow at them.

Sabo's smirk turned into a full grin. "I think we are gonna need a doctor, these two idiots are always getting injured." Sabo ignored Ace's indignant shout as he allowed his grin to turn into a rueful smile. "Plus, we're still pretty young. It might help if we have someone a bit older than us on the crew."

"And you think that I fit the bill?" Sabo could tell that Nekari was fighting a smile and he realized she was seeing how long it took for one of his more excitable brothers to explode from her stalling.

Ace growled in frustration. "Are you gonna join or not?"

Sabo burst out laughing while Nekari's smile broke loose and a few laughs escaped as well. Luffy and Ace looked at them in confusion. Nekari's smile softened but a mischievous glint was in her eyes. "Well, Ace, what do you think? Do you want me to join?"

Ace jerked a bit, startled by the question. He was silent, frozen, for a moment before turning away and looking out the window. "I'm still not sure about you, but it seems like you're…trustworthy or something."

Nekari looked at Luffy and Sabo. "Well then. I guess I had better pack my bags."

**xXxXx**

"You pups haven't decided on a name or symbol for your pirate crew yet?" Nekari leaned against the side of the boat, keeping an eye on the water surrounding them, as she talked.

Sabo made a small adjustment to their course. "Nope. Couldn't agree on anything."

"Hmmm…" Nekari's gaze turned to another section of the sea. "What about Spades?"

"Where did that come from?" Ace's face was covered with irritated confusion.

"Your initials." Nekari reached into one of her bags and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. "If you arrange them a certain way…" She drew a wide A, then started the S on the A's cross bar, before drawing the L from the center of the crossbar. "…Then outline it loosely…" She drew a line around the letters. "Then it looks a bit like a spade!" She held the paper up for the brothers to see.

The brothers carefully examined the drawing. Luffy's face lit up in a bright grin as he laughed. Ace's scowl turned into a small smirk.

Sabo grinned almost as brightly as Luffy. "I like it. It has all of our initials, but once it's filled in, no one but us will know." He glanced at his brothers. "What do you two think?"

"I like it!" Luffy's grin grew impossibly wider.

Ace looked the symbol over once more before nodding. "I guess we're gonna be the spades then."

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I posted the last chapter Tuesday morning, around ten o'clock where I am, and less than five hours later? Eight reviews. Whoo! This is awesome.**

**It is hard to do this part of the story mainly because my mind keeps trying to write the Marineford arc. We will get there but I need to write these bits! Focus, mind, focus! I apologize that it took me so long to get this chapter out—around two weeks—but since it is a bit longer than the others and I introduced a new character I hope you will forgive me.**

**I apologize for the paragraph of description that I did for Nekari, but as she is an original character, I wanted to let you know what she looked like. I will be doing similar things for any OC that will be somewhat important. So far, I only have three planned. The doctor and two other crewmembers. Should I add more or leave the rest of the crew nameless and (relatively) unimportant? Tell me what you think. Oh, and the shawl thing around Nekari's waist? It's similar to Shakky's shawl, just tied on her left hip instead of at the front. Also, her name. It is a bastardization of the Bengali word for wolf.**

**This chapter has been beta read ****yukiko hyuga-chan****. Thank you so much!**

**Review replies: (Those I wasn't able to reply to in PMs)**

**Guest: *blushes* Thank you. I'm glad you think my story is amazing.**

**The Apple's Pie: Yes they are. What disasters will follow?**

**Guest: I am so glad you are enjoying my story!**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you think!**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


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